Nov 1, 2021
Canucks have answered few questions early
Vancouver is off to an uninspiring start and desperately needs its big guns to get going, Travis Yost writes.
By Travis Yost
The Vancouver Canucks knew they had a lot of questions to answer this regular season. Expectations to deliver a playoff contender – in light of a flurry of off-season moves and exceptionally aggressive salary cap strategy – are iron-clad for Travis Green’s team.
Nine games into the regular season, the Canucks are treading water (3-5-1) in the standings. The forward talent, particularly in the top six, is still obvious. The goaltending duo of Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak looks as robust as anything you will find in the Pacific Division.
And yet, it has been an uninspiring start.
The big concern this season was that a beleaguered blueline would nullify the danger the forward group presented – unable to break up defensive zone pressure and unable to move through the neutral zone with pace.
This Canucks team, for better or worse, was built to cause problems through tempo at even strength. But skating fast does not equal playing fast, and far too often the Canucks’ transition game has looked clunky.
The team is just three goals in the red to start the year, and that number may be a bit flattering. Almost the entirety of the lineup has been outchanced at even strength, and in most cases considerably so.
On a game-by-game basis, it’s hard to see where the Canucks have looked like the better team:
Vancouver has had some poor shooting luck that will invariably rebound at some point, but their underwhelming record is reflective of their play on the ice. It’s also worth noting that the Canucks haven’t played a Murderers’ Row schedule to open the season.
The Canucks of the past couple of seasons have generally won games on the strength of the top of their lineup, with the Elias Pettersson line and Quinn Hughes pairing outplaying the competition. But outside of the Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tyler Myers pairing (who would have thought?), the group has been under water so far this season.
Compare that to the disappointing 2020-21 regular-season performance, and it looks right in line:
The Canucks still have plenty of time to improve over the course of the season. No one would argue the roster is limited on talent – players like Conor Garland (seven points), J.T Miller (five points), and Bo Horvat (five points) have been able to find success despite the limited offensive zone time.
But so much about Vancouver’s path to success, and most team’s path for that matter, rests on the laurels of generating more opportunities. If you look at Vancouver’s offensive zone profile, you see two things: not nearly enough volume against opposing goaltenders, and even fewer chances from the dangerous areas of the ice (via HockeyViz):
The reality is if the Canucks are again a negative at even strength, winning games is going to be uniquely difficult. Green’s team learned that the hard way just a season ago. They don’t have a power play the likes of the Edmonton Oilers, they’re returning a league-average penalty kill, and absent a Demko heater, it’s hard to see where the team’s competitive advantage is right now.
Vancouver needs its big guns to step up, and quickly.
Data via NaturalStatTrick, Evolving Hockey, NHL.com